Awesome Next Step: Replace Republican Party

Well, I had a brilliant idea the other day: replace the Republican Party. Sure, sounds more like a nice dream I had right? But having read DP this whole election season I can say that folks here know what I mean when I say that the Republican Party is basically dead and defunct. It's at least going there.

In fact, most of the ideas of the Liberty movement are exactly what the Republicans would need, in theory, to remain relevant in the future. Specifically, we want to STOP BIG GOVERNMENT SOCIALISM AND SAVE THE FUTURE.

If a "third" party gained in strength to above 10%, it would get exposure. From that, it might get 20%. Then it would siphon Dems and Repubs. The Dems could stay alive by going full warfare/welfare. The Repubs would then cease to exist - so the rest would go to the new "third" party. Then America would be Liberty vs. Statism.

Now, I have a specific formula in mind that will do what Libertarianism per se has not done. After all, it's not as if we haven't dreamed of this before.

I think the time has come to find a framework in which both Libertarians (i.e.: Rothbard etc.) and Tea Partiers can find common ground. That's enough to get the 10%. And with good foundations, we'll get 20% once there's exposure. The time is now! The most establishment, good looking Repub in years lost handily to the free handout coalition. The party is dead and now the country is going to go off a fiscal/financial cliff in Democrat hands. THE TIME IS NOW! There is no more Ron Paul campaign, the election is over. THE TIME IS NOW! The 'shut up and vote Romney' people were wrong and the election is over. THE TIME IS NOW!

So what do I have in mind to make this magic happen? My formula is a party founded on basic principles which unite people from diverse backgrounds.

The ORIGINAL Tea Party was this coalition and it ROCKED! But it had no unifying principles or organization. Special interest and big money took over, it veered to the crazy right, and the lib media eviscerated it. But WE THE PEOPLE who were first part of that tax day tea party against bailouts, handouts, Obama, Wall Street, and leviathan are still here. We still want it, in the Ron Paul 'verse, and amongst the neocon-lite blogosphere; even the liberaltarians were jazzed. I feel like I've had a vision of a specific set of principles and a banner for them. It would start out right with clear intentions that would hold as it faced attacks from the monied right and media left. More than anything, it would hold against INTERNAL DISUNION. The principle of union from the American Revolution was spot on! It was twisted to mean a coercive union. The right moral and political principles can inspire a powerful voluntary union in the name of liberty!

The essence of these principles is:

1 - Federalism: Devolve as much power as humanly possible to the states, supporting nullification, 10th amendment powers and so forth. This includes sending money back, or even military funding and training responsibility in the form of the national guard if possible. This will prevent most of the imperialistic administrative intervention by the federal state into our lives. It will also allow us to fight more effectively at the local level which is more accessible and where you find more homogenous coalitions. We need real fights and examples. It's cute when Colorado nullifies marijuana laws, but we need state legislators, governors, and judges aligned in spirit with this new national party who will fight everything from Obamacare to OSHA to war.

2 - Constitutionalism: the document might too heavily favor central government, but let's at least use it. For example: no search and seizure, not going to war without congressional debate and approval, and so forth. Let's force the other guys to FOLLOW THE LAW.

3 - The REAL Free Market: Congress' commerce power is meant to open trade not restrict it. Let's see some laws FORCING states to give up onerous economic intervention. Let's see some teeth against the Fed and Wall Street and cronyism and corruption. Let's make SPECTACLES. "Wow, these guys are serious about taking down fat cats"

4 - Morality and Prosperity through Liberty: The philosophical notion, as an educational arm of the party's efforts, that liberty leads to personal responsibility which is THE building block of wealth and good behavior. You won't have the money to support ANY disadvantaged without a robust and prosperous general society. People WILL NOT be moral or have conservative values if they don't have any responsibilities or accountability. This will be part of the political/cultural messaging of the party. This is how we attract Conservatives, and eventually those who are concerned about the disadvantaged.

5 - Compromise: If we all uphold these principles together we can accept the fact that not everybody is a libertarian yet, or not everyone wants to bomb Iran, or not everyone is an evangelical, or not everyone wants to legalize drugs, or not everyone thinks there should be welfare. We just want to start doing these things at the state level where the PEOPLE are actually EMPOWERED to try and see and learn what works and what doesn't. I think you'd find out liberty works, but certainly we will never settle a darn thing at the federal level. Only the socialists will.

The party itself will fight the Federal leviathan basically. It doesn't have to have a unified position on every war. It doesn't have to have agree on all moral issues. It can - initially - have members who might choose to caucus with Repubs or Dems. The goal is the principle of local power. This means it won't be heavily libertarian per se. It will enable libertarians to make their case more effectively. It will also allow our society to restructure towards greater independence in the civil society and private sector, as well as in households and families (because the federal leviathan strangles everything).

So if Mass. or Illinois want public healthcare and onerous taxes, public pensions, environmental nitpicks, etc. THEY CAN HAVE THEM. And hey, if Alabama wants to jail abortion practitioners, WHY NOT. These issues will never be settled nationally and are distractions from the key issue of liberty.

The key issue of liberty in my opinion is economics. This is what pays for empires and controls human activity. Liberty's enemy is leviathan.

THIS IS THE KEY. Fighting hard in a national coalition against the federal monster. We who agree on that can keep our principles. It won't be perfect, but it's the best path. I for one don't want to wait for the system to collapse in on itself then pick up the pieces. For all I know the collapse is part of the plan. So I say fight now. We are better informed as a civilization about economics and politics then ever before, we have many answers we didn't have before. And we have the internet. NOW IS THE TIME.

So, are you convinced? I've started a blog for this party, and I'd like people to come comment there.

If you do, or comment here on DP that you like this idea, I'll spruce up my posts and site big time. I don't plan on having ads or anything or even running said party or movement. I want to kick start it though, because I feel almost like I've had a vision.

I want to start a discussion.

For now, the name I've come up with is: The Columbia Party.

Columbia was what the revolution era Americans called their nation once they decided they would be apart from 'Britannia'. This was before the days of Lincoln. Lincoln created the notion that "USA" was a country, it was only a political entity back then. The only name the people had for their NATION besides 'America' (the whole continent) was 'Columbia'. So a Columbia Party would be the party of the people of the nation of Columbia - implying that we and our land are bigger and self existent, apart from the political entity USA. Thus we are the people of Columbia fighting back against the largesse of USA which is basically an Empire on our land.

And it so happens that there is NO Columbia Party, not even a fringe one. We could register this baby in all the states!!!

Anyway, I do fear the occult associations that Columbia has, but basically everything does. I figure that symbols can stand for power and evil (occult) or represent one aspect of God. Columbia basically means dove, and the Holy Ghost is the dove, so the Christian connotation means that this land is blessed (the LAND is, with abundance), and that her people are moral. I like the name because it really describes a truly American notion independent of USA, and has great patriotic songs that lack the bombast of rockets red glare. It has the revolutionary flair of the TEA PARTY but more sophistication.

Sorry if my writing is obtuse or if the blog is ugly. I'll put more work into it if you guys want. And once I feel like this idea is kick started, I'll step back and don't care who runs what (preferably state parties independent at first, with multiple internet forums). To me, the Columbia Party is more of a set of ideas than an organization. But it's also a banner, which we need.

Personally, I think Ron's support for such a party is essential, because many people trust him. Regardless, I, too, am beginning to embrace the idea of a new "TEMPORAL" political party as a political David in contest with our current political Goliaths.

but what I'm saying is let's get started. Even if we throw the idea around and spread it out to many different groups. Even if it just threatens the GOP and then fades away should the GOP magically reform or the Libertarians gain popularity, or whatever.

We need a banner - I say "Columbia Party" - and our principles are federalism and pulling power away from Dems AND Repubs in Washington back to the states. Also building a coalition between Libertarians and the libertarian GOP. It's not the be all end all but it's what we should do right now.

So discuss it, comment on my blog and share the idea. Maybe RP will hear about it and give it some legs. Heck, if he mentioned it I'd as soon quit because the idea would be out there.

That the party won't replace the GOP at first. It will likely vote with the GOP, so you can run Columbia Party voters and candidates and ride the strength of the GOP a little. Oh, it will someday get brutal, but at first they might not have a choice.

10%, or 5% even, and you'd win. This is because the Columbia Party isn't about issues. It's about federal power, and reducing it wholesale. That's a big tent, but one the establishment will fight to the death. But the people will be for it.

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